Alumni

Aug 31, 2015

Documenting ‘A Hell of a Life’: NC State video producer’s documentary delivers raw look at moonshiner Popcorn Sutton

In his latest film about moonshiner Popcorn Sutton, NC State video producer and alumnus Neal Hutcheson delivers a broader picture of the folk legend's life. “Popcorn Sutton — A Hell of a Life” explores Sutton’s moonshine enterprise, rise to notoriety and fall into the legal and health troubles that led to his defiant suicide.

Jul 7, 2015

Outstanding Young Alums

The NC State Alumni Association recognized two outstanding young alumni at its Evening of Stars gala. Award recipients Tony Caravano and Vansana Nolintha were Caldwell Fellows and both earned majors or minors in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Jun 2, 2015

As Go the Tropics …

Alumna Sandra Harding (Ph.D., Sociology ’94) asks a deceptively simple question: “Is life in the Tropics getting better?” But don’t be fooled by the simplicity of that question: her quest for the answer, and her leadership as an economic sociologist, stand to change the world. Harding, vice chancellor and president of Australia’s James Cook University, chairs the State of the Tropics, a first-of-its-kind partnership with 12 research institutions around the globe.

May 26, 2015

Where Diplomats Are Concerned

Gentry Smith (Political Science ’83) speaks Arabic and has lived in Japan, Egypt and Burma — a long way from his hometown in Halifax County in eastern North Carolina, where both his parents were schoolteachers. Meet the director of the Office of Foreign Missions at the State Department.

May 25, 2015

Congrats, #NCState15!

Our alumni numbers swelled on May 9, when 950 NC State students earned their undergraduate or graduate degree in Humanities and Social Sciences. Dean Jeff Braden shares his pride in them, and his hopes for them.

May 14, 2015

Poet’s First Book of Verse Wins Prize

NC State MFA alumna Noel Crook has achieved what felt like an unattainable dream: She is a poet, and a prize-winning one at that. Crook won the Crab Orchard Review First Book Award, a national prize providing up-and-coming poets with the opportunity to publish their first book. Crook, who earned her MFA in creative writing from NC State in 2008, gave her $2,500 prize money to NC State to support the MFA program, telling the university’s development office there wouldn’t be a book without John Balaban, the university’s emeritus poet-in-residence.

Apr 24, 2015

Seeking Optimal Outcomes for Children with Autism

The brains of autistic girls appear to be wired more normally than those of autistic boys — and that can be both a blessing and a curse, according to Kevin Pelphrey (Psychology ’96), the Harris Professor at Yale University and director of Yale’s Center for Developmental Neuroscience. Pelphrey is the principal investigator on a five-year, $15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that is investigating why autism is more prevalent in boys than in girls. His grant is one of the largest awards the NIH has given for autism research.

Mar 2, 2015

Alum’s Think and Do Response To Children’s Cancer

Through Headbands of Hope, Jessica Ekstrom (Communication '13) embodies NC State's Think and Do approach to addressing challenges, even those faced by little girls who have cancer.

Dec 22, 2014

English alum’s many hats: chef, TV star, commencement speaker

Chef, restaurateur, TV star and NC State English alum Vivian Howard served up a great speech during NC State's winter graduation ceremonies.

Oct 29, 2014

Marrying Humanities with Science and Technology

Meet Bob Geolas (Multidisciplinary Studies '87), president and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation. and the newest Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumnus.